Tomorrow I Shall Try Again
by An Inkless Pen
Summary: Loki is imprisoned, the Battle of New York is done, and Loki’s daughter is forced to escape Asgard. Now, Tony has a ‘daughter’ and the daughter of mischief must become a lie.
1. Tomorrow I shall Try Again

_Harden your heart, steady your thoughts, learn to live a lie. _

Anika Lokidottir was raised as the Princess of Asgard. The daughter of Prince Loki, she was accustomed to spending her days between lessons and books and exploring everything that drew to her curiousity.

However, when her father disappears save for a handful of desperate letters life in the palace turns tense. Upon his return, beaten and terrified, Loki is declared a criminal to be imprisoned. Despite wanting nothing more than to prove her father's innocence he pleads for her stay out of trouble and not draw any attention to the matter.

When a moment of desperation turns to a dangerous family argument Anika is forced to flee her home. At the urging of Loki and Frigga, Thor spirits his niece away to the first place he can think of.

Lori Stark is the hottest gossip topic in New York. Recently adopted by Tony Stark, seemingly out of the blue, the Norwegian Teen is rumoured to be a myriad of different people, including a banished heiress and the biological daughter of her 'adopted' father.

Now, the gifted sorceress must adapt to the ever changing modern culture of Midgard, all while hiding the truth of her heritage and becoming increasingly swept up in the constant dangers of living with the avengers.

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Alright. So basically this is going to follow everything post the first avengers movie, though I can't promise there won't be some changes (like stupid plot points I elect to ignore) but still. Also, the will be End Game spoilers. It's not for a while (5 years is a long time to cover when typing on mobile) but they do happen. There are topics of blood, violence, death, torture, and all that fun angsty stuff but any chapter that features it will have posted warnings. Stay tuned for the next update in a few days (or hours, depending on how bored I am).


	2. Who has time to write these days

_Haha, remember when I said this chapter would be up in a week? _

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Her ears rang, the sound deafening in the suddenly too silent hall. Surrounded by guards and staring up at - not her _grandfather, _no family acted in such a way or at least _shouldn't _act this way - but rather at the AllFather, Anika was acutely aware of just how small and insignificant the whole of the court viewed her. Of the hundred or so Asgardians in the room only the AllMother and Thor had made any argument against Odin's treatment of the young sorcerer though both had been quickly disregarded and silenced.

He had hit her. The very king who had raised her father and uncle, who had reigned over the so-called "golden age of Asgard, had hit her with enough force to send her spiralling to the floor before all present. She could hear snickering and mocking whispers around her. Hushed commentary on her parentage, on how she was _exactly like_ her father.

Lies. She could hear lies all around her. It was the blessing and curse of being the youngest born of Loki, the inherent ability to detect that which was not true.

"I had believed you to be done with your lies" the room so silent that even with the gathered crowd the king's voice echoed throughout the space. "As I have told you before, with no proof to your claims and the evidence gathered from the '_Midgard Incident'_ all you show is that you are a foolish child so quickly blinded by the word of your father you can't even realise when your innocence is being used. Enough with your outburst, send her to her room and station guards at the door until I have decided how to deal with this child."

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"He hit you. You called him out on lying to the court about what had happened on Midgard and he reacted _by hitting you._"

It had taken days for Odin to relent, allowing Anika a chance to speak with her father in relative privacy in the dungeons. Now the trickster god examined her bruised face with concerned care becoming more and more angry as she explained how the injury occurred.

Loki was a patient god. There were few things that could truly anger him, especially after centuries of distrust and animosity towards him. For the AllFather to name him a monstrous liar was one thing but to raise a hand against his daughter, who only ever looked for the good and honesty within others, that was an entirely different transgression. One he was not keen on ignoring despite the current circumstances.

He had already known of the event of course, both his mother Frigga and oafish but good-hearted brother Thor had informed him. Hearing it from Anika however, was somehow painfully worse. To see the fear and anger in her green eyes, hear the pained confuse in her voice, it was the worst kind of torture he had ever endured, even worse than being under the control of the mad Titan set on using him to destroy Midgard, perhaps worse than even the knowledge of the damage he had unwittingly caused.

Frigga has suggested hiding Anika away from the palace, potanially away from Asgard itself and though the idea of sending her away as he had to all of his other children pained him, Loki was aware it was in the best intention. If Odin had no issue with acting in such a manner over a matter as small as implying the AllFather were wrong, what was to stop him from acting out as such again. Loki could take the hits and bear the hatred of his adoptive father. Anika was innocent, her only sin being his daughter. She would be in danger regardless of where she went but there were those who could protect her far better than the imprisoned trickster. At the very least it was a chance.

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There is a moment in every person's life that holds the potential to change their destiny completely. A precipice where the choice must be made to remain as you were or to jump off into the unknown and take one's life into your own hands. Anika was well and truly sure this was her precipice.

Shivering against the harsh winds, she pulled the old green cloak of her father's closer around her as bright green eyes soaked up every shadowed detail in the night. This was the farthest from the Palace she'd ever travelled and though anxieties twisted inside her with every step part of Anika was eager to utilise the journey as a way to see parts of the realm she hadn't yet, if only as a small distraction from what was really happening.

The plan was relatively simple, though hinged on a number of specific circumstances. Thor and Anika were to sneak to the Bifrost were Heimdall, sworn to secrecy in the name of protecting those who sought it, would be waiting to send the two to Midgard. From there the hope was a friend of the thunderer's would take in Anika and look after her for the time being.

She tried to not think about the fact that they could refuse.

The closer the pair travelled, the more Anika wished she had the resolve to turn back rather than simply run away from the issue. The idea of leaving her home, leaving her father, was heartbreaking. Before leaving Anika had visited Loki with Frigga's aid, had curled next to him as read to her for what could well be the last time. At the end of their meeting her father had wrapped his cloak around her shoulders and handed her the small bag Frigga helped prepare.

"Look, we near the bifrost." Sure enough, as Anika shifted her gaze from the stars over head she could see the world gates where Heimdall waited. The point of no return. Cold appréhension settled into her blood like ice.

When she had left the palace she had thought of herself somewhat like the young daughter in her favourite tome "East of the Sun, West of the Moon", going to stay in some far off place to help her family. Only instead of her stay providing food and stability it would hopefully give peace and time for old wounds to heal. Now, staring up at the very place that would send her away, she felt far more like an unprepared warrior facing a furious lindworm with nothing but a hastily made sword and flimsy armour. She knew little of what she was getting into, all of her knowledge of Midgard coming from outdated books speaking of primitive tribes and cultures still organising their languages. The little Anika knew about the modern civilisation she was to enter came from the reports after Thor's banishment and the 'Battle of New York' as the Midgardian heroes had called it. She was more prepared to wield her barely controlled siedr than to convince these, humans, that she was one of them.

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_I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little _hmm_ on this chapter. See normally I handwrite each chapter. Then edit then change things slightly and re-edit as I type except I lost my notebook that had this chapter so I just skipped steps one and two and wrote this between work. _


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